


Grassroots

by Thatoneloser_kid



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: College Soccer Players AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-01 22:50:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20265787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatoneloser_kid/pseuds/Thatoneloser_kid
Summary: College Soccer AU where Josie plays for Princeton and Penelope for Notre Dame.





	Grassroots

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think? This is probably going to become a series.
> 
> Hit me up? Thatoneloser-kid.tumblr.com

The first time Penelope and Josie crossed paths it was in their freshman year of college, at the first game of the season. 

It was Princeton against Notre Dame, and they didn't really come into contact with each other during the game, they were both strikers for their respective teams, but Penelope certainly noticed her, and so did everyone else. 

The Saltzman twins were two of the best players in the college league by far, even at such a young age, Lizzie seemed fearless in goal and Josie had skills that were unmatched by any defender she came up against, with the exception of  _ maybe  _ Mikaelson, if Josie was having an off day. Josie had stamina in spades, and she was by far the fastest in the league right now. So, of course Penelope noticed. 

Come mid season there was a lot of talk of the Saltzman twins in the college league, both adoration and hateful comments were being made (mostly about Lizzie, apparently Josie was too damn sweet to even say bad things about her behind her back). And Penelope was curious, so she planted herself in the box during a corner against Princeton. 

“I've heard a lot about you, Saltzman.”

Josie glanced over her shoulder at her, her hair whispy, cheeks a little red. She gave Penelope the once over before turning back to the ball. “Is that right?” Josie sounded disinterested. 

Penelope hummed. “But the wonder twins are the talk of the league.”

“Wonder twins,” Josie rolled her eyes. “Original.”

The ball was swung into the box then, and Josie lifted her arm to press her forearm across Penelope’s collarbone as she shot forward, her hands finding the shoulders of the defender in front of her as she sprung up, her head making contact with the ball. 

It all kind of happened in a split second, but it was like Josie had more than enough time to assess and come up with a plan, and she exicuted it perfectly, the ball finding the top right corner, leaving the goal keeper completely baffled. 

Josie turned to Penelope, flashing her a little smile. “Was that wonderful enough?” 

“I wouldn't expect any less,” Penelope said, and Josie’s team surrounded her to celebrate. 

She didn't really get the chance to speak to Josie again after that, but they played against each other multiple times throughout the years, and there was fleeting smiles, and more than a few times there was lingering looks, or brushing of hands during a corner. And every so often, when Penelope would score, she would shoot a wink at Josie as she jogged back to her half, which Josie would reply with an eye roll, or a condescending clap. 

It was the summer between sophomore and Junior year when Penelope was drafted into the American national team for the Olympics. 

She got the call on March third, telling her where to be and when for camp. 

It was going to be hard, juggling school and putting her all into this camp in the hopes she will make it into the final line up, but she had to try, and her school understood that, too, giving her a few online classes as long as she came back for exams. 

She ended up rooming with a girl she had played against a few times, Penelope was sure she was from UCLA. 

Mikaelson. 

She was definitely one of the top defenders out there right now, but she was ruthless, and a little too rough, which got her into trouble often. 

“Penelope Park,” Penelope introduced herself, holding a hand out to Hope. “ _ You _ almost broke my leg.”

Hope's lips lifted into a grin. “Hope Mikaelson. You almost kicked me in the head.”

It was then Penelope decided she liked Hope Mikaelson. 

They ended up in what seemed to be a tiny classroom, being briefed about the camp, and what would happen after if they were chosen.

Penelope was slouched in her seat beside Hope, when the door opened. She glanced up lazily, doing a double take when she realised it was the Saltzman twins. 

She wasn't  _ surprised  _ that they were here, it was kind of a given. 

“You know’em?” Hope asked, and Penelope shook her head. 

“Nah, not really. Just played against them.”

Hope hummed. “Me too, Josie is lethal.”

“Yeah,” Penelope hummed, watching Josie attentively as she laughed at something with her sister, taking a seat a few rows down and to the left. 

Hope snorting beside her is what snapped her out of it. “You're gonna be useless on the pitch if you act like  _ that  _ around her.”

“Shut up, dude.”

Josie didn't notice her at first, only spotting her when she twisted in her chair to drape her sweater over the back, her eyes scanning over Penelope, doing a double take when she registered who it was. 

Penelope was surprised she noticed her at all, really, under the brim of her Notre Dame cap. 

Josie’s lips turned up ever so slightly, raising three fingers in a half-assed wave. Penelope nodded in reply. 

“Huh,” Hope murmured beside her. “I wonder if there are rules against banging anyone on the team. ‘Cause you and her? For sure gonna happen.”

“Me and Ivy league?” Penelope scoffed. “No way.”

“Whatever you say, quasimodo,” Hope grinned, frowning when Penelope just stared at her. “The hunchback of Notre Dame? And you- never mind. You have a cheek to call her Ivy League, your school is a private Catholic school, dude.”

“Okay, UCLA.” Penelope rolled her eyes. 

“Cool, we all go to good universities, glad we have this entire worth while talk.”

Yeah, she and Hope were going to be fast friends.

After their briefing they had their first training session, and it was immediately evident that the twins were on a whole other level from everyone else. Penelope came a close second (which she was more than happy to accept) and Hope was by far the best defended at the camp. 

She was exhausted afterward, the sun taking its toll, there was something different about California sunshine. 

“Saltzman,” Penelope called, her water bottle hanging loosely in her hand as she strolled over to Josie, who had he head tilted back, spraying water into her mouth, beads of sweat trickling down her neck. 

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, raising her eyebrows at Penelope as she walked closer. “Park?” 

“You're good, I mean, I've seen how you play, but playing alongside you.” Penelope let out an impressed whistle. “I'm more than happy settling for the second best forward in the world.”

Josie laughed at that, ducking her head, her cleats scuffing the grass. “Thank you. I don't know, I think we worked well together out there.”

“Well, if we both get on the team we will win the Olympics for sure.”

“Confident, huh?” 

“With you on the team?” Penelope flashed Josie a crooked little smile, clocking Lizzie making her way over to them over Josie’s shoulder. “How could I not be?” 

“Hey, Jo.”

Josie glanced back at her sister, motioning to Penelope. “This is Penelope Park, she plays for Notre Dame.”

“I know,” Lizzie hummed. “You ready to head out?” 

“Park, Saltzman twins,” Hope greeted, and Penelope didn't miss the way Lizzie eyed the girl. “Dinner? They have a place to eat in the complex.”

“Sure,” Josie shrugged, and Lizzie flashed her a look. “What?” 

“We aren't here to make friends.”

Josie scoffed. “We are going to be  _ teammates _ , don't be obnoxious.”

Lizzie tutted, but conceded, joining them for dinner. 

Come the end of dinner both Penelope and Josie were a little baffled at the interaction between Hope and Lizzie, because Hope’s dry, almost dorky charm managed to sway Lizzie, maybe even made her swoon a few times. 

And Hope seemed to be completely oblivious, tucking happily into her pizza as they chatted. 

“So,” Penelope started as they strolled back toward their rooms, Hope and Lizzie a few feet in front of them, both hunched over Hope’s phone watching some soccer video. “They're totally smitten, right?” 

“Yeah,” Josie hummed tilting her head curiously. “I've never seen Lizzie so  _ nice  _ to someone she doesn't know.”

“Yeah, bit of a hard ass, your sister.”

“She's nice when you get to know her.”

Penelope hummed, turning to back peddle toward her room when Josie stopped by her sister outside their own room. “See you in the morning, Wonder Twins.”

The twins rolled their eyes, Josie fondly, Lizzie less so.

“Dude,” Penelope said as soon as the door was closed, turning to Hope who fell onto her bed. “What the fuck was that?” 

“What?” 

“You and Saltzman,” 

“She's hot, so what?” Hope shrugged. “Did you know they hand out Olympic condoms, apparently sex is an issue in the Olympic Village.”

Penelope stared at Hope for a moment, “What the fuck does that have to do with  _ anything _ ?” 

“It doesn't.” Hope said, turning onto her front, effectively ending the conversation. 

Training the following day was exhausting in the best kind of way. 

“You know,” Penelope started, walking to Josie, who was on her back, chest heaving. She offered Josie her hand. “You'd look good in Notre Dame blue.”

“In your dreams.” Josie laughed, taking Penelope's hand and pulling herself up. 

“Maybe,” Penelope grinned cheekily. “Hope and I are gonna go take an ice bath, you brave enough?”

“Sure, sounds fun.” 

And it was, for Penelope, who was somewhat used to the cold in Indiana, but these girls were from California, so watching them slower themselves slowly into the baths, jaws clenched, glaring at Penelope as she laughed at them. 

“How is this so easy for you?” Hope asked through gritted teeth. 

“I grew up in New York, in Indiana right now, a lot of ski holidays.” Penelope shrugged. “After a hard game the girls and I sometimes go relax in the snow.”

“Fucking weirdos,” Lizzie murmured off to the side, but Penelope ignored her, relaxing a little more. 

Penelope was feeling refreshed after, and she knew the other girls did, too, even if they did grumbled about it all the way upstairs. 

The rest of the week went by quickly for Penelope. She and Josie seemed to click on the field, having a type of easy flowing chemistry that didn't come around very often. By the last day of training it was like they could read each other just by the angle of their body and a little flick of their wrist. 

It was something special, Penelope knew that, she had never had that kind of chemistry with anyone else. On or off the field. 

Off the field they clicked, too, but that was different, because Lizzie was there, and there didn't seem to be  _ room  _ for Penelope if Lizzie was around. So, off the field was superficial jokes and playful flirting. 

The last night of camp, the day before the Olympic team was announced and Penelope had to fly home for a presentation at school most of the team went out to a local bar. 

Only a handful of them were old enough to actually drink, but Penelope was charming, too charming for her own good according to Josie, so she managed to get the guy behind the bar to serve her, she  _ was  _ almost twenty one after all. 

Penelope wasn't at all surprised when she glanced toward the bar and spotted Hope and Lizzie kissing, but Josie was. 

“How could you not have seen it?” Penelope laughed, one arm running along the back of the both behind Josie. “They've been flirting all week, dude.”

Josie tried to argue but couldn't, especially when Hope currently had her hand on her twins ass. 

They disappeared home not long after that, leaving Josie and Penelope with their jackets. 

Most of the team had headed home by ten, probably exhausted from the week, but Penelope and Josie stayed tucked in the corner of their booth. Without Lizzie they could really  _ talk,  _ about school, or their home life, or their childhood, and it was nice. 

They got kicked out just after midnight after losing track of time, not even realising they were the only two left in the place until they were stumbling out, giggling as the owner huffed at them. 

Josie had gotten a text a while ago telling her that Lizzie had commandeered the room, and Josie had hoped they would have been finished by the time they got in, but the not obvious at all sock on the door told her otherwise. 

“Well,” Josie smiled coyly, leaning back against the door to Penelope's room. “Looks like I'm in Hope’s bed tonight.”

“Or,” Penelope moved closer, her palm planting on the wood beside her head, while her other hand moved to her hip. “You could join me?” 

And she did, after Penelope kissed her against the door they stumbled inside giggling, tugging at each other's clothes until they were naked, Josie pinning Penelope's to the mattress. 

They both got put on the starting lineup for the team, with training starting the following monday, and their friendly against German was the following month. 

Penelope was packing after lunch when Josie knocked on her open door, smiling when she glanced back at her. 

“Where are you going to go?” Josie asked. 

“I'm going back to school right now, I have a presentation tomorrow, them I'm packing up my things, my brother is going to take most of it back home, the rest I will bring back with me on Sunday.” Penelope explained. “Hope has a place off campus, I'm crashing with her for now.”

“Yeah, Liz and I are going to have to move closer too.” Josie said. 

“Talk to Hope,” Penelope suggested. “Her family owns the building, she might be able to hook you guys up.”

“I will when she doesn't have her tongue down my sister's throat.” Josie tutted and Penelope laughed, zipping up her case and turning to Josie. 

“We're going to the Olympics, dude. As starting players.”

Josie grinned at that, moving to pull Penelope in for a hug. “It's going to be so much fun.” she said pulling back a little bit. “But it will be Rio in the summer, sure your winter hardened skin can handle that?”

Penelope rolled her eyes at the playful jab. “Better than you wet wipes handled the ice baths.”

“Hey, I got  _ better  _ at those.” Josie argued and Penelope hummed. 

“Sorry, dude, I-” Hope huffed as she stumbled into the room, halting when she realised Penelope wasn't alone, a grin pulling on her face. “The nations star forwards, huh?” 

“Shut up,” Penelope rolled her eyes, taking a step back to grab her case. 

“I would tease you guys more but we were supposed to leave ten minutes ago.”

Penelope nodded, giving Josie’s arm a little squeeze as she walked by. “See you Monday,” 

“Good luck with your presentation.”

Hope was grinning at her as they clambered into her car, “So, did you,” Hope wiggled her eyes, making a circle with her thumb and forefinger, putting the forefinger of her other hand inside it. 

“Getting roomed with you was the worst thing that ever happened to me,” Penelope huffed. 

Hope laughed. “You love it,”

“We did, though. We were both drunk and had one of the best weeks of our lives, you know?”

“That's it?”

“Yeah, of course.” Penelope reasoned, and part of her wanted it to  _ not  _ be true, because Josie was kind of amazing, and Penelope kind of admired her a lot. But she knew it wouldn't work, after the summer, the Olympics, they will be going back to University, seeing each other for the odd friendly and in two years for the World Cup. She wasn't in any kind of head space for anything more than teammates, especially when it would be long distance. “What about you and Lizzie?” 

“We had sex, she's hot, we'll see.” Hope shrugged. 

Her presentation went well, then she spent the remainder of the weekend with her big brother and big sister, and her six month old niece. 

“You make it to the final and we will be there,” Odie said, putting the last of Penelope's boxes into his truck.

“You're going to fly to Rio?” Penelope asked, handing the keys to her car to Jac, who was going to drive it back home. 

“Duh, our baby sister is going to win a gold medal,” Jac grinned proudly, pulling Penelope in for a one armed hug, Charlie gripping onto her nose and giggling. 

Penelope pretended to eat her hand before pulling away. 

Jac dropped her off at the airport with a kiss on her forehead (Charlie copying her mother) and an ‘I'm so proud of you, kiddo’. 

Hope picked her up at the airport. 

“So, the twins are moving into the building,” Hope said, “Also, I think I'm dating Lizzie.”

That made Penelope frown. “You  _ think? _ ” 

“I mean, we sorted out a place for them to stay on Friday, then we got ice cream on Saturday and she kissed me goodnight.” Hope explained. “It felt very date-like.”

“So, talk to her, dude.”

“Nah.” Hope waved her off. “I think I will just spend my life questioning it until we get married  _ then  _ I will ask her if she like  _ likes  _ me.”

Penelope laughed at that, knowing ( _ hoping _ ) Hope was kidding. 

“Have they moved in?” 

“Tonight, my aunt dropped the key off today, they're below us.”

“Below?” 

“Yeah, would've put them down the hall but we have the penthouse so there is no down the hall.” Hope said. “Their dad dropped their car full of their shit off this morning, they're spending the day with him.” 

“Jeez, someone is rich,” Penelope teased. 

“Coming from you,” Hope shot back,and Penelope cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah, I know who your parents are, dude.”

They got Penelope settled in, and had dinner before Hope got a call from Lizzie saying they were outside and could use a little help. 

Penelope followed Hope downstairs, the twins resting against their car, both dressed in matching Princeton sweatshirts and joggers. 

“I'm still convinced you'd look good in Notre Dame blue,” Penelope said, giving her own sweatshirt a little tug. 

Josie laughed, moving to give Penelope a hug, which took Penelope by surprise, she wasn't a hugger, but she let it happen. 

“How did your presentation go?” Josie asked, moving to grab a few boxes. 

“It went well, my marks should be on the portal by tomorrow.” Penelope grabbed a couple of boxes. 

Penelope settled on the sofa, both she and Josie peering over the back at Lizzie and Hope, who were standing the kitchen area, so obviously flirting.

“Hope said she thinks they’re dating.” Penelope murmured, watching as Lizzie reached up to twirl Hope’s hair around her finger.

“Yeah, Liz said they went for ice cream.” Josie shrugged. “Other than that she hasn’t told me much about what is happening, if anything.”

Penelope rolled her eyes, turning to Josie. “How are you feeling about tomorrow?”

“Good, I’m excited. I think it is going to be so much fun, and the game in Germany will be good.” Josie hummed. “You?”

“Excited, I have a few more papers due, and I need to fly back at the end of April to take exams. So I think I will feel better about all of this once school is over.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Josie huffed. “I don’t have much to do other than my exams, thankfully. If you want, I could help you out? Not  _ do  _ your paper for you but maybe help research.”

“Do you know much about cell to cell interactions in bacteria?”

Josie stared at Penelope for a few seconds. “I can bring you food  _ while  _ you research.”

Penelope laughed softly. “You don’t need to do that, I have that paper due and one on a disease or disorder of my choice.”

“Oh, what are you going to choose?”

“I think I’m going to food allergies, and how altering the microbiome of the gastric system could help treat them.”

“That sounds like it would be interesting, both to write and read.”

“Yeah, I have a rough outline that I drafted up on the plane, for both papers. I’m going to try and get them done before Germany.”

“Well, consider me your personal room service lady while you get it done.” 

Penelope chuckled at that. “Careful, I might just abuse that,” 

“I wouldn’t be annoyed at that,” Josie shrugged. “Maybe we can study together, I find Lizzie a nightmare to study with, she only does the bare minimum to get the grades to stay on the team.”

“Okay, we can definitely do that.” Penelope agreed.

Penelope was on top of her game the following say, playfully nutmegging a few people, including Josie who rolled her eyes, giving her a little shove. “You’re such a showboat,”

“Not all of our skills can come from pure stamina and skill. Some of us need to add a little flair to stand out.”

Josie scoffed. “I’ve seen you play, Park. I've seen you purposely do little tricks to embarrass people.” Josie said. “You're a showboat.”

Penelope didn't even argue with that, she really couldn't. 

She and Josie studied together most nights after training, only really taking a break on Friday and Saturdays. 

It was nice, spending time with Josie. They never really spoke about the night before Penelope headed back home, and nothing happened between them after that night, it was purely platonic, at least according to her, Hope seemed to have other ideas. 

“Come on, dude,” Hope said, spotting for Penelope as she squatted. “I've seen how you look at each other, and there is an insane amount of sexual tension there. You should just fuck, friends with benefits kinda thing, it will help with the stress off playing.”

“It's not like that,” Penelope huffed, planting her feet a little better before squatting again. 

“You guys are constantly locked away in your bedroom, as if you're just studying.”

“Not everyone can be effortlessly clever, Hope,” Penelope grumbled, setting the bar on stand, wiping her face with her shirt. “Seriously, we are just friends.”

Hope scoffed and, yeah, Penelope had thought she had felt some tension between them, the lingering looks when they were training, or the touches as they brushed past each other during a corner, the blatantly flirting. 

But Penelope had convinced herself it platonic. 

They ended up sitting beside each other on the flight to Germany, Hope and Lizzie rushing to sit toward the back of the private jet, Josie rolling her eyes at her sister as she settled beside Penelope. “They're children.”

Penelope was still half sleep, drawning in her brothers Columbia football hoodie, offering Josie a sleepy smile. “Looks like you're stuck with me, dude.”

“I've been stuck with worse,”

Penelope gave a half-hearted scoff, her head falling against the wall as she stared out the window. “You haven't been stuck with better.”

The flight took off not long after that, and Penelope was still half asleep when the air hostess came by. 

Penelope didn't get the chance to order anything before Josie had ordered her coffee for her, handing it over with a playful little smirk. “You're no fun when you're sleepy.”

The journey was pretty smooth, Penelope and Josie huddled together, watching movies on Josie’s laptop. 

They spent the first half day in Germany in the local bar, all a little too tired to do much else. 

Training the following day was fun, it was nice being in a different country, in different grounds. What she hadn't expected was to trudge off the bus, Hope’s hands planted on her shoulders, putting all of her weight on Penelope on step down, and for there to be paparazzi there. 

She also didn't expect to sit down for dinner and to have Lizzie shove her phone in her face, open on an article about herself and Hope, and how the ‘two rookies were the new hot couple on the team’. 

“God, they get one picture and run with it.” Hope grumbled, but Penelope knew  _ why  _ they were running with it, because of who her parents were.

“You okay?” Josie asked after Lizzie and Hope disappeared upstairs. “You've been quiet since Lizzie brought up that article.”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Penelope assured, flashing Josie a smile, but Josie didn't seem convinced, eyeing her for a few seconds. 

“Are you worried about the tabloids?”

“A little, but not how you think,” Penelope said, and Josie nodded. Penelope had expected her to push, but, instead, she nodded, turning back to the food she had been picking at.

“If you want to talk about it we can,” 

“Thank you,” Penelope smiled. 

Josie just hummed. “How're you feeling about tomorrow?” 

“Excited, nervous. It's going to be fun, and eye opening to where our shortcomings are.” 

“Yeah, we will see if we are really as seamless together as we think.” 

As it turns out, they were. 

The game finished two goals to one, one scored by Josie and both set up by Penelope. 

It was a whole different experience playing soccer on a national level. The stadium was bigger, and packed, there were cameras everywhere, and Penelope kind of loved it. 

Josie and Penelope seemed to bounce off each other effortlessly, which shouldn't work, considering their play styles were totally different. 

Penelope was all fancy foot work and too much dribbling (She didn't miss the way Josie rolled her eyes with a fond smile every time Penelope nutmegged a player), whereas Josie was stamina and power. Penelope didn't let anyone touch the ball whereas Josie was so fast no one  _ could  _ touch the ball. 

But all either one of them had to do was glance in the direction of the other player and they seemed to know the play instantly. 

Josie had scored the first goal of the game, fifteen minutes into the match, after Penelope intercepted the ball just before it went out for a goal kick, pretending to go left, tapping the ball through the legs of the defended when she stretched out for the ball, grinning at the ‘ooh’ that sounded from the crowd. She glanced toward Josie, who began running to the front post just as Penelope swung the ball in. 

The defended realised a few seconds too late that Josie was running, and Josie was a power house, outrunning the defended on her, and thundering past the defended that was marking Bryce, catching the ball with the side of her foot and easily tapping it into the goal. 

The crowd erupted, at least the American side did, and Josie took off toward Penelope, who was running at her, a large smile on her face, easily catching Josie in her arms when she sprung up. 

It was Bryce who scored the second goal, a header from Penelope's corner.

Lizzie made some great saves and, honestly, the goal against her wasn't even really her fault, first one of the mid fielders gave away a free kick too close to the box then the defenders just weren't listening to her, so the wall wasn't in the right place. If they had been they would have blocked the low lying shot. 

But they won, and while that wasn't a surprise the rest of the team who hasn't been beaten in over a year, it was the girls first international game, so they were over the moon. 

Unsurprisingly, Lizzie and Hope had disappeared into the twins room, leaving Josie standing in the hallway without an explanation. 

Penelope offered up her hand, her lips upturned. “What'd you say?” 

“Is this a ‘crash in Hope’s bed’ thing?” Josie asked, placing her hand in Penelope's, allowing her to pull it in. 

“It's a ‘if you wanna crash in Hope's bed you can, but I would rather you joined me’ thing.” Penelope said, dipping down to bring her lips within a few inches of Josie's, letting her make the next move.

“I like that option better.”


End file.
